He’s dragged me off to every practice and every away game since we’d been together, but I know that won’t last forever. “Cody?” He’d stopped talking, but there was a lot of movement in the background.
“I’m coming to you!” I looked at the phone after he’d hung up and almost jumped out of my skin when it rang almost immediately.
“Dad?” My emotions were all over the place.
“What have you done to your mother?”
“What do you mean? What’s wrong with mom?” You reap what you sow, Lisa. You played with others, and now the chickens are coming home to roost. I knew I sucked at being the bad guy.
“Well, she’s been buzzing around here since your call. I’ve not seen her this upbeat in a while. Now she’s in a rush to come out there to see you. Hey, by the way, your mother, my wife, asked about private housing in the area. How did you get her to agree? I thought it would take me at least another year to bring her around.”
“I don’t know; the stars just lined up, I guess.” The relief almost made my knees give out. We talked about the car and how everything went with the delivery, and my dad wasn’t half as annoying as Cody about the stupid thing.
“Now, let me ask you. What do you plan to do about your boyfriend when we come out there?” And we’re back.
“What boyfriend?”
“This is me remember? I know you very well, and besides, I’ve seen your personalized license plate.”
“Has mom seen it?” I’m so dead. Once again, I missed a step in my planning. I can’t very well hide a whole ass boyfriend, and Cody is not the type to stay hidden anyway if I tried. “Dad, you’ve got to help me.”
“Already on it. I’ve been dropping little hints here and there. Maybe we’ll come to one of his games; I’ll try to arrange our visit around that. What do you think?”
“You’re the best dad.” I had visions of my younger self when dad would sneak me some treat or the other that mom had denied me. Or the way he’d carry me around on his shoulders which used to terrify mom until he got her involved in the fun. If not for my dad, I’d have lived forever in the bubble mom kept me in.
“I love you, pumpkin; now let me go see what my wife is up to. She’s about to pull her hair out over this soiree thing. Apparently, some people don’t know the difference between a soiree and a party. Your mother is fit to be tied over canapes or some such thing.”
Canapes, I don’t remember ordering those. Oh, dear!
“It’s all I can do to talk her out of coming there for your party. But don’t fret!” He was quick to add before I started to hyperventilate. “She’s just worried about her little girl’s first party. You know she hates for anything to go wrong, especially when it’s about our little princess.”
“I know, dad. I’m beginning to understand her just a little. But you’ve got to help me with the Cody thing.”
“I told you I’m on it. By the way, as your father, shouldn’t I be the one wary of this boy?”
“Why aren’t you?” I know he said he trusts me and my judgment in choosing, but he’s been way too accepting now that I think of it.
“I’ve spoken to his parents a time or two now. If he’s anything like his dad, I’d be proud of you.”
“Of me? Why?”
“It’s not everyone who can find someone with that kind of heart their first time out. And besides, I have a dossier on him that has put my mind at ease.”
“Dad, you didn’t.”
“I certainly did, and if you want my help with your mother, you should be glad I took the initiative.”
“He’s not rich, not from a well-established family; mom might….”
“Is that what you think your mother will be most interested in? I can see you still don’t really know her, huh, pumpkin. Your mother and I grew up with money, sure, but we also grew up in a time when the world was changing. The woman that would’ve been your Godmother had she not passed away came from the DC inner city area….”
“What? Who is she? How comes I never heard of this before?”
“Your mother doesn’t like talking about it; it still pains her that she lost her friend. I’ll tell you all about it someday. Let me go now before she makes some poor sap cry over the phone again.”
I hung up the phone feeling raw and listless. It seems like since I left home, I’m finding out things about my mom that are nothing like the woman I know. I didn’t have long to linger on the thought because there was a knock at the door. Cody was here and just in time, too, because I suddenly felt like crying.